The present invention is broadly concerned with improvements in photographic equipment and, more particularly, to improvements in monopod support devices for cameras.
While satisfactory images are often recorded using handheld cameras, the quality of still and moving images is often improved by steady support of the camera recording the images. Handheld image capture devices such as smart phones, cameras, camcorders, and the like are prone to shake, shudder, and vibration. This negative effect is magnified when zooming in on a subject, as is often done in photography for sports, action news events, art, nature, and the like.
Historically, cameras have been supported by structures having multiple legs, such as tripods. The widely spaced points of ground contact of a tripod provide a stable platform for a camera against vertical and lateral forces. However, tripods tend to be relatively heavy, take up a considerable ground or floor area, and can be trip hazards to persons not aware of their presence. The use of tripods can be awkward in tiered type seating structures such as bleachers, stadiums, and the like. For these reasons, tripods are sometimes restricted at many public events and venues, such as sporting events and the like.
In order to overcome some of the problems associated with tripods, other types of camera support structures have been developed, such as monopods, also known as unipods. As the name implies, a monopod is a single legged structure. Typical monopods are telescopically collapsible and have means to releasably attach a camera thereto, such as a pan and tilt head which enables pivoting the attached camera about vertical and horizontal axes. Monopods tend to be lighter in weight and more compact than tripods and take up less space when deployed. While a monopod supports the weight of a camera and, thus, steadies it vertically, undesired movement and shaking of the camera in lateral directions is still possible.